Wine Country Inn in Healdsburg
Five rooms in the middle of eleven acres of old-vine zinfandel, ten minutes from the square and about four hundred yards from where the wine we pour you was grown.
(707) 555-0176
An old press house with five rooms in it
Sorrelwood was a working press house until 1974 and a private home until we bought it in 2007. There are five rooms now — three in the house, one in the old press building and a cottage at the end of the row — and eleven acres of zinfandel that is still picked and sold to a neighbor.
We are ten minutes from Healdsburg square and inside the Dry Creek appellation, which means most of what you came to taste is within twenty minutes of the gate.
- ✓Five rooms, never more than eleven guests
- ✓Eleven acres of old-vine zinfandel, still farmed
- ✓Wine poured on the terrace at five, included
- ✓Ten minutes to the square, inside Dry Creek Valley
Five Rooms
Three in the house, one in the old press building, and a cottage on its own. Every rate includes breakfast and the five o'clock pour.
Rates include breakfast and the terrace pour. Harvest — the last week of August through early October — books out first and costs more; we will tell you honestly which weeks are which.
Breakfast, the pour, and an honest opinion
Nothing below is an upsell. The only thing we sell is the room.
Breakfast under the oak
Between eight and ten, at one table under a tree older than the house. Fruit off the trees behind it in season, eggs from the neighbor, bread from downtown.
The five o'clock pour
Something from the valley, often from within a mile, poured on the terrace and not charged for. It is how everyone staying ends up talking to each other.
A route worth driving
We will write you one, built around what you actually like and how far you want to drive. It will include which rooms to skip, which is the useful half.
Tastings booked for you
The small places need an appointment and most of them answer to us faster than to a website. Tell us the day before and it is done.
Parking, and a number for a driver
Free parking at the door, and the number of two local drivers who know the valley — because the whole point of the day is that you should not be driving it.
The vines themselves
Eleven acres you are welcome to walk. During harvest the picking starts about four in the morning and guests are welcome to stand and watch it.
A look around
Five o'clock, every day we are open
At five someone opens two or three bottles on the terrace and puts out a board — cheese from the creamery on Westside Road, olives, whatever fruit is ripe. It is not a tasting and nobody is selling you anything.
It lasts about an hour, or until the last people leave for dinner. In nineteen years it is the thing guests write to us about most.
- ✓Two or three bottles, usually from within a mile
- ✓A board of cheese, olives and fruit — no charge
- ✓About an hour, from five, on the terrace
- ✓Moves indoors by the fire from November
How most people spend it
Two valleys, one square, and a hard rule about driving.
Breakfast, unhurried
Eight to ten under the oak. Most people plan a nine o'clock start and leave at eleven, which we have stopped trying to prevent.
Dry Creek in the morning
The valley starts at our gate. Three or four of the small places will be open by ten and empty until noon — that is the window worth having.
Lunch on the square
Ten minutes into Healdsburg. We will tell you which two places are worth the walk and which one you should book a week ahead.
Alexander Valley after lunch
Twenty minutes east and a different set of wines entirely. This is the half of the day people forget to plan and then remember.
Back for five
Bottles open on the terrace. Whoever drove gets the first glass, which is the only formal rule we have.
What people write afterwards
They poured us something from four hundred yards away and then told us, unprompted, which three tasting rooms to skip. That is worth more than any concierge desk.
Breakfast is under an oak that is older than the house, the fruit comes off the trees behind it, and nobody rushes you out of the chair.
We booked the cottage for a week during harvest. You can hear the picking start at four in the morning and it is the best alarm clock I have ever had.
Before you book
Harvest is loud and expensive
Late August to early October: picking starts around four in the morning, rates are at their highest and the valley is full. Some people book it for exactly that. Others should come in May.
August is hot
Well over a hundred some days. Every room has air conditioning, the Carignane Room is the coolest, and the terrace does not become pleasant until about six.
Dogs in the cottage only
The cottage takes one dog, free. The house does not, because breakfast is at one shared table and not everyone wants a dog under it.
Three rooms are up stairs
The Press House and the Cottage are level from the car. Say so when you book and we will put you in one of them.
Come and stay in the vines
Five rooms, and harvest goes first. Send your dates and we will write back today.
How booking works
No deposit and no card held. Five rooms does not need a system.
Send your dates
The form, or ring the house. Tell us which room and whether you want tastings booked.
We answer today
What is free, what it costs that week, and whether your dates fall in harvest — which changes both.
You confirm
That is the booking. We take payment on arrival and nothing before it.
Plans change
Free more than a week out. Inside a week we ask for one night, and in harvest we ask for two.
Asked most often
Is the wine at five actually included?
Yes, and it is not a tasting flight with a sales pitch at the end. Two or three bottles from the valley, a board of cheese and olives, about an hour on the terrace. We do not sell wine here, so there is nothing for anyone to close.
Will you book our tastings?
Yes, and it is genuinely faster than doing it yourself — the small producers in Dry Creek need an appointment and most of them answer our calls. Tell us the day before with a rough idea of what you like and we will put a route together, including which places to skip.
What is harvest like to stay through?
Loud, expensive and completely worth it if you want to see it. Picking starts around four in the morning from late August to early October, rates are at their peak, and the valley is at its busiest. If you want the same vineyards in silence, come in May.
How hot does it get?
Well past a hundred on August afternoons. Every room has air conditioning and the Carignane Room is the coolest in the house. The terrace is unusable until about six in high summer, which is why the pour is at five and not three.
Do we need a driver?
You need one or you need to nominate someone. We keep the numbers of two local drivers who know the valley and charge sensibly. It is the single most useful thing we hand out.
Can we bring a dog?
In the Vintner's Cottage, which takes one dog at no charge and has its own porch and door. Not in the main house, because breakfast is at one shared table under the oak.
Check dates
Tell us when you would like to come and which room appeals. One of us writes back today — and nothing is charged until you arrive.
- Visit usHealdsburg, CA 95448
- Call us(707) 555-0176
- Email usstay@sorrelwoodinn.com